April 4, 2024 - The Jockey Club today announces an exciting new partnership with The Stronach Group's 1/ST, North America’s preeminent Thoroughbred racing and pari-mutuel wagering company.

This ground-breaking initiative will create links between historic races in the UK and high-profile, valuable turf contests at 1/ST courses in North America. The aim is to build the international profile of all races in the partnership by increasing the number of runners travelling from the US to the UK, and vice-versa.

The partnership will see the winners of two valuable contests in North America this spring gain automatic entries for two of The Jockey Club’s Group 1 summer highlights – the Coral-Eclipse and the My Pension Expert July Cup.

In addition, the winners of the Coral-Eclipse and My Pension Expert July Cup will gain an automatic entry and a travel incentive for two prestigious contests in North America in the autumn.

The full race schedule is below:

Turf Division The winner of Santa Anita’s Charles Whittingham Stakes (Grade 2, $200,000, 10 furlongs) on Saturday 4th May will receive an automatic entry and a travel incentive to run in the Coral-Eclipse (Group 1, £750,000, 10 furlongs) at Sandown Park on Saturday 6th July.

The winner of the Coral-Eclipse will receive an automatic entry and a travel incentive to run in the California Crown John Henry Turf (Grade 2, $750,000, 10 furlongs) on Saturday 28th September at Santa Anita Park.

Turf Sprint Division The winner of Pimlico’s Jim McKay Stakes (Listed Stakes, $100,000, 5 furlongs), on Saturday 18th May will receive an automatic entry and a travel incentive to run in the My Pension Expert July Cup (Group 1, £600,000, 6 furlongs) at Newmarket on Saturday 13th July.

The winner of the My Pension Expert July Cup Stakes (Group 1, £600,000) will receive an automatic entry and a travel incentive to run in the California Crown Eddie D Turf Sprint (Grade 2, $750,000, 6.5 furlongs) on Saturday 28th September at Santa Anita Park.

Aidan Butler, President of 1/ST, said: “A special thank you to our friends at The Jockey Club on launching this innovative partnership. We look forward to welcoming in competitors to the inaugural California Crown at Santa Anita Park this autumn. “This partnership with The Jockey Club is part of our wider global strategy for improving international interest and top-class participation in the world’s biggest races - as evidenced by a similar alliance we have with Royal Ascot, via our Royal Palm juvenile series at Gulfstream Park, which delivered Crimson Advocate, the winner of the prestigious Queen Mary Stakes, in its inaugural year."

Matt Woolston, The Jockey Club’s Assistant Racing and International Director, added: “We are delighted to announce this great new initiative today and I would like to thank everyone at 1/ST for helping to make it happen.

“By pairing two of the UK’s most famous and prestigious Group One contests in the summer with a quartet of valuable North American turf contests in the spring and autumn, we feel we have the perfect race schedule for transatlantic runners.

“In addition, British and other European trainers now have the chance of an incentivised trip to North America in the autumn for races at Santa Anita Park’s exciting new California Crown meeting.

“We feel we have highlighted a race schedule that incentivises runners to travel across the Atlantic.”

ENDS

Press & Media Contacts:

The Jockey Club UK Ben Cox, ben.cox@thejockeyclub.co.uk

__1/ST __ United Kingdom/Europe Rom Evans, Red Knot, rom@redknotcomms.com

North America Tiffani Steer, tiffani.steer@1st.com

About The Jockey Club UK

The Jockey Club is one of the largest sports businesses operating in the UK today. The Jockey Club runs 15 of the country’s leading racecourses across 14 unique locations and has several other owned businesses within the portfolio spanning hospitality, breeding, and training. For more information visit www.thejockeyclub.co.uk.

About The Stronach Group and 1/ST

The Stronach Group is a world-class technology, entertainment and real estate development company with Thoroughbred racing and pari-mutuel wagering at the core. The Stronach Group’s 1/ST business (pronounced "First") is North America’s preeminent Thoroughbred racing and parimutuel wagering company and includes the 1/ST RACING & GAMING, 1/ST CONTENT, 1/ST TECHNOLOGY and 1/ST EXPERIENCE businesses, while advocating for and driving the 1/ST HORSE CARE mission. 1/ST represents The Stronach Group's continued movement toward redefining Thoroughbred racing and the ecosystem that drives it. 1/ST RACING & GAMING drives the best-in-class racing operations and gaming offerings at the company's premier racetracks and training centers including: Santa Anita Park, Golden Gate Fields and San Luis Rey Downs (California); Gulfstream Park – home of the Pegasus World Cup Championship Invitational Series and Palm Meadows Thoroughbred Training Center (Florida); the Maryland Jockey Club at Laurel Park, Pimlico Race Course - home of the legendary Preakness Stakes, Rosecroft Raceway and Bowie Training Center (Maryland). 1/ST CONTENT is the operating group for 1/ST's media and content companies including: Monarch Content Management, Elite, TSG Global Wagering Solutions (GWS) and XBTV. 1/ST TECHNOLOGY is racing's largest racing and gaming technology company offering world-class products via its AmTote, Xpressbet, 1/ST BET, XB SELECT, XB NET, PariMAX and Betmix brands. 1/ST EXPERIENCE blends the worlds of sports, entertainment and hospitality through innovative content development, elevated national and local venue management and hospitality, strategic partnerships, sponsorships, and procurement development. As the advocate for critical industry reforms and by making meaningful investments into aftercare programs for retired horses and jockeys, 1/ST HORSE CARE represents The Stronach Group's commitment to achieving the highest level of horse and rider care and safety standards in Thoroughbred racing on and off the track. The Stronach Group’s TSG Properties is responsible for the development of the company's live, play and work communities surrounding its racing venues including: The Village at Gulfstream Park (Florida) and Paddock Pointe (Maryland).

For more information, visit www.1st.com or follow @1ST_racing on Twitter or @1stracing on Instagram and Facebook.